JIM MOORE | Cougs-eye view of Apple Cup full of worms

Washington State punter Michael Bowlin (46) drops a low snap during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game against UCLA Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012, at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. His punt attempt was blocked. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

We're five days away from an Apple Cup that figures to end with the Huskies posting their fourth straight win in the rivalry game.

As a Coug, I would like to think it will play out differently with Washington State pulling off the upset at Martin Stadium. If that happens, it will be memorable because it seems so darn improbable right now.

It will also be memorable because Mike Leach said he'd buy drinks for fans at Valhalla, an off-campus bar, if the Cougs win. As an incentive in his contract, Leach will receive a $25,000 bonus for beating the Huskies.

I'm trying to picture everyone at the bar, celebrating with the Pirate of the Palouse, singing the fight song, clinking their mugs together in toasts of joy.

But today as I sit in a back yard in Scottsdale, Ariz., there's not enough booze in mom's liquor cabinet to let me think that's really going to happen.

I went to yesterday's game at Arizona State, hoping for a different outcome than a 46-7 defeat. My daughter's a senior at WSU, and I wanted to take her on a road trip before she graduates in May.

I thought it would be cool if the football gods allowed the Cougs to beat the Sun Devils so my kid and I could have some sort of magical crimson-and-gray moment together.

So much for that pipedream. When I pray to the football gods, I'm guessing they say something like this ...

Football god: "Hey, we just got another message from that idiot in Seattle. He's asking for a Cougar win again."

Another football god: "Are you kidding?! We're not that powerful."

Football god: "Yeah, but he said if we can let Baylor beat Kansas State and Stanford beat Oregon on the same day, then can't we let Washington State beat Arizona State too?"

Yet another football god: "Hey guys, have you seen the Cougs? What does he think we are, miracle workers?"

I haven't seen the line on the Apple Cup, but I'm guessing the Huskies will be favored by 17 points. They won their fourth straight game on Saturday, hammering a Colorado team that beat Washington State for its only victory of the year.

Comparing the two teams:

The Dawgs are 7-4 and rolling; the Cougs are 2-9 and have lost eight in a row. In their two victories, over Eastern Washington and UNLV, they had to survive Hail Mary's to win.

The Dawgs have Bishop Sankey and a good running game; the Cougs have the worst rushing attack in the country.

The Dawgs are greatly improved on defense under their first-year coordinator Justin Wilcox; the Cougs have given up more than 40 points in their last three games.

The Dawgs are playing their best ball of the season under coach Steve Sarkisian this month; the Cougs, well, maybe you've heard that things haven't gone as well under coach Mike Leach.

Right when you think the Cougs have hit bottom, they pull out their shovels and keep digging. That's the way it felt at Sun Devil Stadium, where the sun shined on everyone but the guys in white jerseys from Pullman.

I don't get it, and I'm tired of trying to figure it out. For the second time in three weeks, the Cougars needed a touchdown in the last minute to avoid being blanked.

Even more pathetic, the Cougs challenged a ruling on the field when they trailed 46-0 late in the fourth quarter. I can't even remember what the challenge was for — maybe it had something to do with the strength of the pre-game margaritas or maybe the challenge seemed so ridiculous that I didn't want to acknowledge that it was actually happening.

In keeping with the mood of the day, the Cougs naturally lost the challenge, as if it mattered either way.

I'm trying to keep the faith with Leach. I hear from his staunch supporters that we need to have patience, but come on, the transition phase of the program should not have been this bad.

Look at the other three teams in the Pac-12 that had coaching changes — UCLA with Jim Mora is 9-2. Arizona with Rich Rodriguez is 6-4. Arizona State with Todd Graham is 6-5.

Go ahead and argue that those teams had more talent than the Cougs. I'll buy that to a point. But I'll counter 'til the cows come home that we're not a 2-9 team talent-wise.

The worst part? Feeling like I'm being disloyal to the program for questioning what's going on over there. If that's the case, sorry ... I'm just not going to be some kind of Stepford Wife who obliviously thinks that everything will magically occur like it did at Texas Tech, not with a start to an "era" like this.

Maybe my concerns about Leach are unwarranted. Maybe I'll feel bad someday for questioning his coaching tactics when he first took over at Washington State after we're going to bowl games year after year.